McCoy to be Inducted into Hall of Fame Saturday

Maryland Athletics

6-18-2014

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - University of Maryland head wrestling coach Kerry McCoy will be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2014 this weekend. Induction ceremonies will take place at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla., Friday and Saturday.

McCoy will be joined by former Maryland standout Thomas Norris, who will be receiving a Medal of Courage from the organization.

“It’s amazing,” said McCoy of his impending induction. “You never think you will be in a position to achieve something like this. It’s truly an honor to be recognized and it’s even more special to be inducted alongside a Maryland great.”

A three-time Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year, McCoy was named the University of Maryland Male Coach of the Year in 2012. McCoy has also won three ACC titles and coached seven All-Americans since he arrived in College Park, including most recently two-time All-American and NCAA finalist (184 pounds) Jimmy Sheptock..

Under McCoy’s guidance, Sheptock became the first Maryland wrestler to reach a final since Gobel Kline won the 1969 national title at 152 pounds. In six seasons at the helm, McCoy has guided the Terps to four top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships including three straight from 2009-11. In addition, McCoy has won 71 percent (83-33-1) of dual competitions in his six seasons in College Park, the highest winning percentage of any Terrapin head coach.

The New York native has come a long way from Longwood High School on Long Island. Though he was in a great pool of wrestlers with the likes of Nick Hall, Keith Ketcham, John Lange and Rason Phifer, who were all big stars for his high school coach Mike Picozzi at Longwood High School on Long Island, he rose to have a very distinguished career. In 1991, McCoy captured his first county title and made it to the state finals his junior year. In 1992, McCoy won his first state championship.

Upon heading to Happy Valley, McCoy became a three-time All-American and won the NCAA heavyweight title in 1994 and 1997, becoming Penn State’s Athlete of the Year and the Nittany Lions' Wrestler of the Year. In 1997, McCoy also received the Hodge Award as W.I.N. Magazine's Wrestler of the Year.

During his time as a student-athlete, McCoy served two terms as the President of the Penn State Student Athlete Advisory Board. In this role, McCoy was key in organizing Penn State student athletes to discuss NCAA and Penn State policy recommendations. McCoy was also very active in the student government and campus administration.

As one of the campus’ leaders, McCoy represented the opinions of Penn State’s student-athletes in over 29 sports at the Big Ten’s Student Advisory Committee meeting. McCoy also served as a NCAA S.A.A.C. representative on the NCAA Management Council.

After an outstanding collegiate career, McCoy represented the United States at two Olympics before he became the head coach at Stanford. McCoy took fifth place at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and seventh in 2004 in Athens. McCoy also won five straight U.S. National Freestyle Wrestling Championships from 2000 to 2004.

In addition to these accolades, McCoy has been a member of the United States National Team nine times and earned a silver medal in 2003 at the World Championships. In August of 2003, McCoy won a gold medal at the Pan-Am Games and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament.

During the 2008 NCAA Championships, McCoy led the Cardinal to a 19th-place finish, which was the second-best finish in the program’s history. Stanford finished second in the conference championships, its best showing ever. That same year, Stanford sent five wrestlers to nationals in St. Louis for the second straight season, which was also the most in team history.

Prior to Stanford, McCoy spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Lehigh where he mentored 14 All-Americans and a pair of NCAA champions. McCoy also had a stint as an assistant coach at Penn State for three seasons, where he helped the Nittany Lions to a pair of fourth-place finishes at the NCAA Championships and guided 10 All-Americans and two national champions. He then joined the Terps in the summer of 2008 after serving as a coach for the Olympic Men's Freestyle Wrestling team.